The Right Things
by Andrew Joshua Talon
Summary: After Earth's war on the Galactic Guardians, some people are reflecting on the cost of one's beliefs... UPDATED
1. Chapter 1

**The Right Things**

**Andrew J. Talon**

**Disclaimer: **_I don't own Atomic Betty, nor am I making any profit from this endeavor. For my friend, MikariStar. Damn, you write a lot, girl! Not that that's a bad thing, but wow..._

* * *

The war was over.

Captain Noah Parker sighed heavily, wiping the sweat from his brow. He smirked slightly at the fact his uniform sleeve remained as clean and pristine as the day he first received it. Of course, that _was_ today, but still…

"Sir?" He froze, then nodded to himself, before turning to the hatch of the office. Standing there pensively was his first officer, Paloma Martinez. He smiled wanly at her tired expression.

"Commander." She smiled slightly back, before stepping over the debris and scattered papers covering the deck. She stopped next to him, standing at ease. She frowned, then followed the captain's gaze to the smashed desk in front of him.

"… Sir? The ceremony…" Noah sighed again. He seemed to be doing that a lot lately.

"You're going to be late," she pressed. Noah smirked.

"Wouldn't that be terrible?"

"Sir…"

She trailed off, and stared down at the desk again. Noah took a breath.

"Of all the sights I've seen… For some reason, this seems the saddest," he remarked philosophically. Paloma frowned, and narrowed her eyes in concentration. She shrugged helplessly.

"I… I don't see it, sir."

"This desk… The head of our enemy. The nerve center, as it were," Noah pressed on. He waved a hand over the debris. "The admiral's desk." He shook his head.

"Doesn't seem as intimidating now. And yet…"

"Doesn't seem much of anything now, sir," Paloma suggested. Noah laughed mirthlessly.

"No, it doesn't, does it?" The captain shook his head. "That's the problem."

"Sir…"

"I know it's foolish. I know it goes against any kind of sense," Noah grimaced, "but Betty…"

"Betty made her choice," Paloma stated flatly. "As did we, sir."

"We were friends in school. Hell, maybe more than friends, if she could ever pay me a bit more attention," Noah sighed. "She kept this secret for years… And only now, after this… After all this, all that her secret has gotten her is imprisonment."

"She fought against us, sir," Paloma replied. "Turned on her own people, her own world. Lead our enemies, in support of a system that was going to collapse in on itself anyway, one day."

"I know this. And it still doesn't make it any better," Noah murmured quietly. Paloma tentatively took his hand, a comforting gesture.

"You're being given command of the _Messiah_, sir," Paloma reminded him. "Explorer-class ship. We can leave this all behind… And it will get better, sir."

"Because we were right," Noah nodded. "We won… But I still feel like we lost."

The commander did not answer, only pulling her captain through the hatch, towards the ceremony, the new, beautiful ship that was to be his. And the new future.

Away from the past.

* * *

"For over five centuries, the Galactic Guardians patrolled the spaceways, trying to keep the sentient beings of the cosmos safe, and secure," the speech began, as always in Penelope Lang's elegant tone a reassuring and strengthening monologue for anyone who listened.

"Unfortunately, the GG was never able to move past simply stopping the tyrants and evil empires of the galaxy. They let them thrive and grow, allowed them to threaten innocent worlds and end millions of lives. Only when they made a move were they stopped, despite the fact that their mere presence was a threat to peace-loving entities throughout the known universe." She paused in front of the assembly, letting the crowd of humans and aliens take this in.

"At the same time, they enforced ignorance of the rest of the universe on other worlds, maintained a strict watch on planets like Earth, Cirus, and Tar'lakan to make sure they did not advance. They had enough on their plates already without adding more species to patrol," she noted with the right tinge of bitterness. The delegates nodded, murmured agreement to everything she said. And it was true, from a certain point of view.

"It was only after Earth's discovery of starcruiser technology, that the GG attempted to prevent something. Attempted to nip us in the bud, and keep us confined to our little world," she continued. "But we fought back. We moved to the stars, united under one banner, and began to unite more worlds, more peoples who wanted the same things we did. Freedom, security, and peace." She paused.

"We have all lost many people. I myself lost my parents in the war. And I will not lie to you—it is hard, to go on without the ones you love. We all know this. But we must go on; otherwise, their deaths will have been in vain." Penelope hardened her gaze, focusing on every delegate, trying to get this across.

"We cannot turn on eachother now that our mutual enemy has been vanquished. I myself, as the representative of Earth, am in favor for the proposed Alliance of Planets. It would herald a new galaxy under one, just government. In the history of my own planet, the greatest and most prosperous nation ever founded was a democratic-republic. I know that it is a new concept to most of the worlds represented here. I know it will frighten and confuse many, as it did my own people centuries ago. But it can work, if we have the courage to make it so." With her final affirmative nod, the delegates broke into applause, and Penelope stepped back and walked off stage, praying fervently with every step that this would work. That the war had not been in vain.

That the look in Betty's eyes the last time she saw her would no longer haunt her dreams, because she was doing the right thing. They all were…

* * *

Betty sighed deeply, collapsing against the tree trunk, her legs aching nearly as much as her head. The twenty-six year old woman would be considered attractive by human standards, a lithe, graceful figure, soft red hair, and almond-shaped green eyes. Her ragged, dirty clothing and haunted expression did not diminish her beauty, but put it in perspective.

"I know you're here, Atomic Betty!" She froze at the voice of her nemesis. Carefully, silently, she stood up, before leaping with feline-agility and stealth into the tree branches above. Her eyes narrowed as her pursuer came into view, wielding a sharpened branch. The feral look of Maximus filled her with rage, rage at her former friends and homeworld, rage at herself for how easily she'd been defeated.

Rage at the possibility of her being wrong. That she deserved to be sent to a backwater world with no hope of ever leaving, trapped on this deserted world with some of her worst enemies. Rage that she was counted among them.

"You can't escape… There's no where to go…" He laughed insanely, the confinement to this world having rattled his already tenuous grasp on reality. His back turned. Betty leapt. Maximus turned back, bringing his improvised spear to bear, but Betty twisted at the last second and tackled the lynx, sending them both tumbling to the ground in a furious whirlwind of blows, kicks, and snarls.

Betty woke up a few minutes later, to the groaning of the lynx. She raised herself up, noting immediately the spear lodged into his ribs, and the blood dripping from the wound. She froze, as he looked at her, tears in his eyes. _Cats don't cry…_

"… Terrible… Business… Hm, Betty?" He asked, gasping pitifully, but still an air of ridiculous dignity in his eyes. She nodded, not knowing what else she could do.

She reached out and took the spear, pulling it out, before ripping her top off and holding it against the wound. She recalled her first aid training in the GG academy, and for once, didn't know if it was worth it.

* * *

**(shrug) Random idea I had. What if Earth were running things in the galaxy? Well, that thought grew into how this would happen, and so I decided to write it out. It's a one shot, mind you, just to prove I could do it, but if anyone wants to write along these same lines, go right ahead.**


	2. Chapter 2

**The Right Things**

**Andrew J. Talon**

**Disclaimer:**_I don't own Atomic Betty, nor am I making any profit from this endeavor. _

_Fine, yes, I'm writing another one. Happy?_

_

* * *

_

Beatrix sighed as she stood, stretching and wincing as the bones of her spine popped. She rubbed the back of her neck, before turning away from her garden, and smiling at the young man standing before her.

"Noah! How are you?" Noah smiled with a shrug, his blue two-piece BDUs rustling minutely in the mild breeze.

"Not bad… We came in for a stop over at L3 Kennedy Station, and I thought I'd visit a while."

Beatrix nodded, and hugged the young starship captain strongly, before releasing him and leading him to the house. "I've made up some fresh cookies. Come on in, stay a while."

Noah smiled wanly, and kept that expression, even while eating the chocolate chip cookies. He sighed deeply.

"Now, don't you go trying to apologize for Betty again…" Noah shook his head.

"Can't blame a guy for trying… You should be in command of the _Messiah._ Not me. They offered you the commission, didn't they?" The much older woman sighed and sat down, shaking her head.

"Yeah… 'Fraid I'm a bit too old for such things though, despite evidence to the contrary."

"You saved the world," Noah pointed out. "When the Galactic Guardians had all their operatives pull out, you stayed. The Martians would have killed us all…"

"Maybe… Maybe not." Beatrix shrugged. She smirked. "It's a good thing the Martians watched all those _War of the Worlds_ movies. Otherwise, we might not have defeated them."

"But you gave us the stars," Noah pressed. "You turned your ship over to the Americans, who finally managed to build our own fleet of starships. Without those, we couldn't have defeated the Martians… Or the Galactic Guardians."

"I'm not denying I've done a lot. But you've done great things too, Noah. Don't ever sell yourself short," the grandmother insisted with a gentle smile. Noah returned it weakly.

"Betty will be fine. Her training will keep her safe." Beatrix shrugged. "It could have been worse. The jury might have gone ahead with the death penalty. Noah… Don't fret about the things you have no control over, allright? I tried it. It never helps."

"But I…"

"You, are a captain, in the Allied Fleet of Earth," Beatrix told him firmly. "You command the most advanced, and powerful starship ever built by humans. Most advanced and powerful ever built by most any race in the galaxy, as a matter of fact. So act like it." Noah shook his head again with a sigh, and smiled at her.

"Guess being love sick is more hazardous than I thought, hm?"

"It always is…"

* * *

"And now, Ambassador Penelope Lang, representative of Earth to the recent Celebra summit," intoned the UN speaker, to the resounding applause of the several hundred delegates. The elegant young woman, dressed in a simple bottle green pantsuit, nodded with a smile to the speaker, before taking the microphone.

"My report, on the recent summit should be in everyone's possession. If it is not, please ask the computer terminal in front of you to display the needed information," Penelope stated smoothly. Once a sufficient number of heads nodded in confirmation, she cleared her throat.

"Delegates of the Allied Nations of Earth. Despite the interstellar media's reports, there is considerable interest among the worlds formally under the power of the Galactic Guardians to join the Alliance of Planets. However," she turned a page on her hard copy of the report, "a number of reservations have also been expressed."

"Among them are concerns about Earth's significant military power. Our fleet of warships is the largest of any single planet, and our ground forces, aided by Martian and our own technology, are massive. At the moment… Our total military personnel exceed fifteen million. And fully one third are now deployed."

"Remnants of the Galactic Guardians still remain," responded the delegate from Israel. "And, without them, the worlds they once controlled are now virtually defenseless from outside threats. Not to mention that the GG functioned as the _de facto_ police force, and civil service."

"This was not discounted, sir," Penelope replied patiently. "However, the fact that the humans are the dominant population of the military seems to give some worlds the idea that we have designs on conquest." A flurry of protests sprang up at this.

"_Conquest!_ After what we did for them!"

"My children didn't die to set up a new tyrant!"

"Ungrateful sheep!"

"Order, order!" The bickering quieted down as the Chairman of the Allied Nations banged his gavel. He then turned and nodded to Penelope. "Please continue, Madam Ambassador."

"Thank you, sir. Now, many of the worlds were interested in acquiring new technology, and our offers of setting up civil works and services for their populations. Cirrus and Tal'larkan, our allies from the start of the war against the Galactic Guardians, are heavily in favor of the alliance and have already pledged to join. Ainrofilac Ubilam, Edenia, Robot Paradise, Crushton, Aquus, Mermidia, Mortavia, and Lynx are all positive about the alliance and would like to join as well. Our offers to allow them places in our military, and our outline of government, seem attractive to them. However, several dozen other worlds are still talking over the Alliance proposal. The three-branch system, adopted from the American style of government has not been practiced on any world other than our own." Penelope sighed.

"And, of course, there is _Messiah."_ The delegates murmured, nodding amongst themselves. The representative of China spoke next.

"Exactly why are they so concerned over an oversized science ship? Granted, it is considerably advanced and large, but still…"

"Because this 'science ship's' primary weapons array can annihilate entire planets," Penelope answered flatly. "And has more firepower than our entire fleet put together. And cannot be detected by any sensor systems currently in use or under development." The delegates rose into an uproar once again.

"What?"

"Why were we not informed?"

"Some science ship! It's a death machine!"

"Order! Order!" The Chairman banged his gavel hard, until the protests finally quieted. He stood up and looked around the amphitheatre.

"The _Messiah_ was originally designed as our flagship. This vessel's advanced technology and weapons would have rendered her for all intents and purposes indestructible and unbeatable, and would ensure that Earth would never again be threatened with conquest. Unfortunately, in an alliance of planets, one world having such a powerful ship is virtually guaranteed to start a new, major conflict as other worlds rush to build their own super ships to regain the balance of power." The chairman turned to Penelope.

"Ambassador Lang has made a proposal that should not only alleviate the fears of other worlds, but should make the Alliance of Planets a reality." Lang took a deep breath.

"I believe… That if we agree to make the _Messiah_ the first ship of the Alliance of Planet's Space Fleet, with a crew composed of members of all the allied worlds, then the Alliance itself will work. _Messiah_ will be the Alliance's flagship, going out to explore, but being able to showcase our power and technology. This will help us show what we can offer, along with friendship, to new worlds and civilizations, but also act as a deterrent against worlds that may be hostile to our Alliance. And she will be a peacekeeper among the worlds of our own Alliance, a symbol of unity." Lang noted that the amphitheatre was silent. She hoped that was a good thing.

"In the end, ladies and gentlemen, if this Alliance is going to work, the first thing we must offer the other worlds in it is trust. Without which, nothing can be done…"

* * *

"… Damn, that's big." Paloma smiled slightly at Beatrix's extremely accurate statement. 

"Yes, she is. Biggest thing built by humanity, as a matter of fact. Well, biggest thing we can make move. And the fastest." The little shuttle had broken Earth orbit a few minutes ago, and had set course for Mars. Formally the home world of the Martian Empire, when they had attacked Earth nine years ago they had believed that they would have no problems. Watching Earth's various alien invasion programs over the years, the Martians had concluded that as long as they protected themselves against the common cold, they were safe.

They hadn't counted on the fact that humans were far more ingenious, determined, and courageous than their Hollywood counterparts. Or that their own technology would be used against them when Earth finally returned the favor of invasion. The Martians had been allowed to invade Earth because of a loophole in the Galactic Guardian's code: Unless a civilization asks for GG assistance, the GG cannot offer any. But when the GG intervened on behalf of the Martians against Earth, humanity offered Mars two options: Help them fight the Galactic Guardians, and be given freedom and peace, as well as trading contracts with Earth, or go down with them.

The Martians had made mistakes, but they weren't stupid.

And now, with their help, the first ship of the Alliance of Planets Space Fleet was ready to be commissioned.

_Messiah_ was nearly two kilometers (one thousand, eight-hundred fifty-two meters) in length. Her nose was a small, elongated sphere, with numerous sensor arrays and fins emerging from it. Her "head" was attached by a long, thin "neck", taking up half of _Messiah's_ total length, that led to a cross-like structure, each arm of the cross sporting dozens of small windows and micro-meteoroid deflection rods. These four modules, each the size of a small skyscraper, held _Messiah's_ crew quarters, bridge, science labs, sickbay, and various recreational facilities, to keep the hundred-plus crew supplied and comfortable. Behind the habitat modules was a gigantic sphere, transparent, high-strength alloy windows braced by web-like support struts. It glowed with artificial light, and even from this distance the multitude of vegetation being grown in the bio-sphere was plainly visible. Behind this was a second sphere, even larger than the bio-sphere, but covered in dull gray hull-plating and thick armor. Behind this was the ship's absurdly-small-looking engine assembly, but only a moron would think this massive ship was underpowered.

"That's the fuel tank?" Beatrix gawped at the larger sphere. Paloma nodded.

"Even with the new binary-fusion reactors, we still need to carry about a million tons of lithium deuteride to produce the necessary amounts of power. The fuel cells provide most of the ship's basic power requirements, but her weapons and engines are directly plugged into the reactor system." Beatrix shook her head with a smile.

"No wonder she's called _Messiah._ She certainly seems godlike in power." Paloma shrugged.

"Her primary mission is exploration, but with her firepower and the new stealth technology we've added, she's also the perfect reason to avoid war. She's our peacekeeper, operated by members of all the worlds of the Alliance."

"Isn't that huge fuel tank a bit easy to target?" Beatrix asked. Paloma smiled.

"If they can find her while she's under cloak, there's about two meter's worth of trinium alloy armor protecting the hull. Along with her structural integrity field, and she's as rigid as a red dwarf. It'd take ramming an Earth-sized planet at fifty percent of the speed of light to destroy her." Beatrix nodded.

"No wonder you wanted her operated by the Alliance. If it was just Earth…" Paloma nodded.

"Yes. She would probably start a war just by being built." Beatrix grinned.

"She'll be in good hands with Noah. His spirit is very bright and pure, despite the hardships he's endured." Beatrix turned to the younger woman and looked at her seriously.

"He cares for you, deeply." Paloma nodded sadly.

"I know… But never as much as he will for Betty."

"I tend to think of love not in terms of how much, but in terms of how well," Beatrix replied mysteriously. Paloma frowned, but was interrupted as the shuttle finally docked with the massive _Messiah._

_

* * *

_  
"Mmgh… Unf…" Maximus IQ could be called many things. A tyrant, an egomaniac, a genius (if he did say so himself), and a monster.

At the moment, all he was was a Lynx with a very bad headache. He opened his eyes, tracing the sounds and smells of an open fire to their source.

"Atomic… Betty…" He breathed, blinking at her. She sat opposite of him, nude from the waist up, her legs tucked up against her chest as she stared listlessly at the fire. She looked up at him, her expression blank.

"Just Betty." Maximus blinked again, and looked down at his body, propped up on some leaf-covered rocks to prevent shock. Her top was tied tightly around his midsection, pressed against his wound. He furrowed his brow.

"Pity, Betty? For your enemy?"

"We're not enemies now. The reasons for us to be enemies are gone," she replied dully, returning to staring at the fire. Maximus frowned.

"How so?" He was utterly baffled. He was a tyrant! A conqueror! Betty looked at him with an incredulous expression.

"The Galactic Guardians are gone. Defeated. We were both sent to this world so that we would _never_ threaten anyone ever again. You have no resources, no weapons of mass destruction… I have nothing. Not anymore."

"… It's ironic, I suppose," Maximus mused out loud, after a few moments of silence. "I wanted to find your home world, in order to defeat you… And yet, your home world defeats us both." The Lynx chuckled darkly. Betty shook her head with a sigh.

"Yes… Very ironic…"

* * *

_Feel free to review, I may yet write more!_


	3. Chapter 3

**The Right Things**

**Andrew J. Talon**

**Disclaimer:**_I don't own Atomic Betty, nor am I making any profit from this endeavor. _

_Third (or fifth) chapter of this series. Enjoy!_

* * *

Paloma couldn't help but smile broadly, lifting her thumb up as she blotted the sensor image of the Milky Way galaxy, slowly receding behind them. Already _Messiah_ was making well over nine thousand lightyears an hour-They would be to the Andromeda Galaxy in a little over two weeks. Already they had gone further than any lifeforms from their galaxy had gone before, not to mention faster. The Alliance of Planets was actually a fairly small percentage of the galaxy, which still remained largely unexplored. 

_Just goes to show you how big space really is,_ she mused, before turning to Captain Noah, standing before the holographic plotting table with B-1. She walked to their small conference and listened in as the rest of the bridge crew went about their duties.

"I believe our first stop should be M31A143, here," Noah began, the hologram zooming in to show a small orange star. "Its location is right on the edge of the galaxy. Plus, it allows us to get close to M31C91, here," Noah moved the displayed slightly, showing a small yellow star. "We've detected some faint subspace radio signals from this area."

"Definitely can't be natural, then," B-1 harrumphed. X-5 floated nearby, looking intently at the hologram.

"Indeed. The variances in the signals do not match any known natural occurrences. Within our own galaxy, at least." Noah smiled wryly.

"Even if we don't find life there, it's probably worth a look."

"I'm a bit concerned about our fuel reserves though, Captain," Paloma spoke up at last. "As it stands, we'll only have enough to do a cursory scan before heading back home." Noah frowned.

"What's wrong with our fuel converters?"

"While they should prove sufficient for our mission, Captain, I would advise caution in utilizing them," X-5 stated. "This is only a shake-down cruise, after all. An extremely ambitious one, however."

"First lifeforms to get to the Andromeda galaxy," Noah chuckled. "Probably enough for one mission. Agreed then. We'll leave several probes, however, to continue researching. At least until we can get back."

"I think we should keep them in stealth mode, just to be on the safe side," B-1 put forth. "Wouldn't do to let anyone know we've been about. At least until we can speak for ourselves." Noah nodded.

"Make it so. And keep us under cloak when we leave the galaxy proper. I'd prefer to not-" The communications alert went up, and a holoscreen appeared in front of Noah's eyes. He quickly read through it, before turning to the helm.

"Mrs. Staller, change course to 275, mark 093." He then turned to B-1.

"Mr. B-1, make the ship ready for combat. Full alert status. Paloma, sound general quarters. X-5, begin combat operations." His senior crew staring at him, Noah elaborated with a sigh.

"It seems that the Andromeda trip will have to wait… There's a situation developing near the Prison System…"

* * *

Admiral DeGill looked proudly at his small, but powerful taskforce. True, he had commanded larger ones during the recent war, but this fleet was different for a crucial reason. 

They were going to liberate their captive comrades from the prison system, then take back what was theirs. The Galactic Guardians, he reflected, were more than the galaxy's protectors-They'd practically run the entire damn thing! Who else made sure that the right leaders ascended to the throne? Who else drove off dangerous villains and tyrants? Who else could keep the peace?

Only they had.

"Admiral, we are approaching the security zone," his executive officer reported. He nodded, blowing a few bubbles from his pipe.

"Excellent. What is the composition of the enemy forces?" The holoscreen before him shifted, revealing the images of an entire Earth carrier battlegroup. His eyes narrowed at the vessels as they patrolled, sneering in disgust.

"Earthlings, hmph! They should have stayed put! But instead, they throw the entire galaxy into chaos!" Degill turned to his XO. "Remind me to make sure they are all imprisoned when we've retaken the galaxy!"

"Sir?" His executive officer, a lemur-like humanoid from the planet Madascara, inquired. DeGill nodded.

"Yes… All of them. Every single last despicable earthling! I want their entire race controlled and contained!" He paused. "And after which, we must take pains to keep greater control over the galaxy. We can't have this happening again! Never again!" Degill took a deep breath, before barking out his orders:

"Prepare to attack! Drop the cloaks!"

Degill's task force was made up of several dozen Starcruisers and Stardestroyers, and hundreds of Starfighters. The Starcruisers were all of the _Excelsior_-class; larger, faster, and more heavily armed than Atomic Betty's standard dispatch cruiser. The destroyers were simply smaller, more numerous versions of the cruisers, and the fighters were largely advanced combat drones. Degill had spent months scraping together what ships and survivors he could of the Galactic Guardians-Many having surrendered or defected during the war, still more dying or being captured and imprisoned. Degill, however, was thankful that this was not the bulk of his remaining forces.

"Oh no… I have much, _much_ more in store for you all," Degill hissed menacingly at the screen. The GG forces closed with the Earth taskforce, the Earth super-carrier deploying it's alert fighters while it's escort of cruisers, destroyers, and one battleship screened the flagship from harm, just as Degill gave the final order:

"Fire!"

* * *

Commodore Ryan Finch had once been part of the Royal Navy on Earth. Commanding the aircraft carrier _Ark Royal_, he'd helped Great Britain show the flag to other nations for several years. However, once the Martians invaded, his old carrier had been destroyed, and he had been one of the few survivors. He had sworn from that day forward to avenge his lost sailors, and when Earth finally took the war out into space he'd been given command of one of their first space carriers, the AES _Kitty Hawk._ The same carrier he now commanded, he and his ship were the veterans of a dozen grueling battles, and had been first choice for keeping the prison system isolated and protected.

The last thing the new Alliance of Planets needed was dozens of ex-Galactic Guardians and super villains getting free to wreak havoc once more.

"Have the _Akibo_ and the _Dover_ come about to cover our rear, last thing we need is to be exposed if they break our lines," he ordered. His command was relayed by the communications officer of the _Kitty Hawk_ to the seven other ships that made up the task force.

"What are we looking at?" The tactical officer put up a sensor image on the holographic planning table that Finch now stood over.

"Looks like about twenty-five capital ships, and four times that number of fighters," the tactical officer surmised. Finch nodded.

"Ready main batteries. And prep our strike fighters with tactical weapons. Let's focus on taking out the fighters first, before we engage the capital ships. Last thing we need is a swarm of pesky gnats poking our arses…"

* * *

­

The Allied Earth fleet had been constructed with whatever was readily available. Considering they didn't have an entire spaceship construction industry like their opponents, they'd had to improvise with the technology provided by Beatrix Brown, and the production facilities lying about.

As a result, all their warships used a vertical-missile launching system, much like the ones employed by US and Allied naval vessels. It did not affect their combat potency, but it was a rather unusual sight. And while they had incorporated shielding technology and beam cannons, the Earth ship's main armament was projectile weapony-Rail guns, missiles, and plenty of drones.

The moment Admiral Degill's task force was in range, every ship launched a salvo of modified Sparrow missiles, their originally anti-aircraft warheads now replaced with binary fusion devices. Twenty F/A-49 Viper rocket fighters roared behind them, their own missiles launching as GG fighter drones swarmed against them.

Explosions filled the space before the GG taskforce, their short-range laser cannons destroying most of the incoming missiles. Two cruisers exploded into nuclear fireballs as missiles from the AES _Archon_ slammed into them. The GG starships spread out, keeping the Earth fighters at bay with sustained laser fire. But, as the Earth fighters deployed drones, and the drones from the capital ships caught up, the GG vessels were forced to divide their fire. And it was this that, as in so many battles before, was their undoing.

Five more GG capital ships exploded into nuclear blasts, while three suffered heavy damage courtesy of the Earth fleet's missile and rail gun fire. Degill noted that their fighter screen was beginning to dwindle. The fish-like admiral cursed, seeing that while their forces were more numerous, the Earth fleet's use of long-range weapons and manned, high-performance fighters along with drones once again gave them the decisive advantage.

"All ships, fall back!" He ordered gruffly. However, a smile returned to his face as a green light glowed on his console.

"The fleet is in full retreat, Admiral. The Earth forces are in pursuit," his first officer reported. Admiral Degill nodded, smirking.

"Excellent… Excellent…" The first officer, named Kilrabi, was concerned. The entire assault had been simply a diversion, and yet the admiral had been treating it as their primary objective. His mood swings seemed to be getting worse. Being forced into an actual, full-scale war (not to mention losing it) had shaken Degill up very badly. Even worse was when his girlfriend, Pontifidora, had joined the Alliance of Planets against them. Kilrabi did not believe Degill was going mad, no. That would be quite impossible, according to the Galactic Guardian Psychological Profile of the admiral.

Of course, Kilrabi reflected, those reports were made before the war.

"Kilrabi!" The Madascaran turned, seeing Degill glaring at him.

"Yes sir?"

"What is the latest report on the Frothing Sea project?" Degill asked. Kilrabi pulled the appropriate report from the computer files.

"Manager Infantor says the initial testing phase should be complete within a matter of days. However, he notes that such a system has never been constructed before, and he is not as much of a genius as this project requires."

"Inform him he will keep to the schedule, or his nannies will develop a taste for his flesh," Degill replied coldly. Kilrabi blinked.

"Sir?"

"Do you have a hearing problem?"

"No sir. I'll see it's sent…"

* * *

Betty frowned, then turned around. She glared.

"Maximus!" The Lynx grimaced in pain.

"Honestly, Atomic Betty! You humans are so obsessed with privacy!" Betty kept her top firmly pressed against her chest, maintaining her modesty. She had intended to go and clean off the blood in a nearby river, while some local flora was keeping Maximus's wound sealed. She certainly didn't need _Maximus,_ of all people, seeing her topless!

"Well, get used to it," she snarled angrily. Maximus shrugged slightly, wincing at the effort.

"Honestly Betty, on my planet we don't really care about clothing. My robe is simply an expression of my achievements. It's not intended to hide anything. And besides-By my standards, you are about as attractive as a monster-faced lamprey. So really, all this modesty is uncalled for." Betty maintained her deathglare anyway, leading Maximus to sigh and roll his eyes.

"Fine. My eyes are now closed." Betty nodded in approval, before scrambling out of the cave. She then froze, and titled her head. She looked up.

"Maximus! Look!"

"First you tell me _not to look,_ now you want me to? Make up your mind, woman!" Betty ignored him, following the small, black-colored object descending from overhead. She grinned.

"It's a ship, Maximus! We're saved!"

* * *

_Or are they…?_

_Dun dun dunnnn!_


	4. Chapter 4

**The Right Things**

**Andrew J. Talon**

**Disclaimer:**_I don't own Atomic Betty, nor am I making any profit from this endeavor. _

_Fourth (or eight) chapter of the series, depending upon your POV. Enjoy!_

The _Messiah_, despite her considerably advanced technology, could not simply boost herself beyond her top speed. Even with hyperspace drive technology, the starship could not just get anywhere instantly. Captain Noah Parker tapped the side of the holoplanning table in irritation, _willing_ their ship to get to the Prison system.

"Captain, I would advise patience. We are returning, abruptly I might add, from the edge of the galaxy," X-5 consoled.

"True… However, it'd be nice if we could get just a bit faster," Noah sighed. X-5 shrugged.

"We will arrive when we arrive, sir. There is little else we can do." Noah steepled his fingers and looked down at the screen once more.

"X-5… You were once part of Betty's crew. Not to mention, the Galactic Guardians," the captain said quietly. The robot nodded.

"Yes, Captain."

"Then why did you join our crew? The Earth effectively destroyed the Galactic Guardians. We imprisoned Betty on that planet. You could have joined the resistance of the Galactic Guardians… Or simply retired on Crushta. And yet, you chose to join _Messiah._ Hell, you helped build her. Why?" The robot was silent for a moment, indicating to Noah that X-5 was having some difficulty with the question himself.

"Captain Betty was not dismissive, or abusive of me. Most of the Galactic Guardians, however… And the galaxy in general, considered me and my fellow robots to be simple tools. At most, perhaps servants: Valued, but not respected as equals." X-5 looked intently at Captain Parker, his eyes zooming slightly in an emulation of concentration.

"Captain Betty treated me with respect and kindness. She thought of me as a real, living entity. She refused to have me replaced with newer models of robot assistants, and always valued my input and opinion. As did her grandmother, when we visited her on Earth. When the war began, I was assigned, with Betty, to a desk job, monitoring Crushta and the surrounding areas." Noah nodded.

"I remember… B-1's uprising started spreading among other robots in the galaxy. A few planets were hoping to destroy Crushta to keep you in check. Earth offered an alliance to Crushta: In exchange for assistance and equal rights, you fought alongside us in our war against the Galactic Guardians."

"And we have never regretted that decision, Captain," X-5 replied. "Betty actually supported robots being granted the same rights as organic beings. When Crushta joined the Alliance, the Galactic Guardian Command began to round up all robots and have their memories wiped, in order to prevent us from turning against them. Betty pretended to be knocked unconscious by me… To allow me to escape." X-5's antenna drooped slightly.

"She had no choice but to fight against Earth after that. She'd taken the desk job to avoid fighting the Galactic Guardians for Earth, and to avoid fighting Earth. She could not choose between the two. But I… But in order to save me, she had to fight. Otherwise, my defection would have had her declared a traitor and… Executed." Noah blinked in disbelief.

"Executed!"

"The GGC was losing more and more of it's own to the Alliance every day," X-5 elaborated. "Anyone not committed to defeating Earth and it's allies was considered at best a deserter… And at worst, a spy and traitor." X-5 sighed mechanically.

"I wanted her to not have to make that choice, between fighting her home and fighting her friends. I thought that her being "betrayed" by me would cement the GG's trust in her, and allow her to keep to a job that wouldn't bring her into conflict with Earth or the Guardians. I miscalculated their reaction severely." Noah shook his head.

"It wasn't your fault."

"That's what she said," X-5 replied sadly. "She only fought in the last few battles… But she was ultimately considered a traitor by her own homeworld. The world she hadn't wanted to fight. All because she refused to choose between them." X-5 shook his head.

"The idea that robots are living beings has not been easily accepted by many in the galaxy. Earth has led the call for our recognition, and every human I have met has treated me with respect." Noah shrugged and smiled.

"Beatrix emphasized that robots were not considered real beings to the rest of the galaxy. The leaders of Earth decided that, in order to get your support, we would recognize your rights as true, living beings. But, to be honest, most people after seeing you and other robots like you on TV, were convinced you were alive anyway."

"However, the fact that I am free, while my captain is not, is… Disquieting," X-5 confessed. "My circuits continue to struggle with the concept. I am unsure why."

"Just means that… That you're conflicted," Noah sighed. "Which, more than anything else, says that you are alive."

"Must I always be so conflicted?" X-5 asked.

"Well… That depends on you, X-5. And on how you decide to live. We all have to find our own way in this universe. It's never easy… But it's worth it, in the end." Noah sighed and leaned back, stretching.

"If you're strong enough…"

The Earth cruiser _Titan_ had been the first starship built by humanity. A rather blocky, wedged design, she resembled a giant hammer with small wings and pods flanking her aft section. Her superstructure was blocky, almost like an office building growing out of the tail of the ship. And her initial shakedown and testing cruises had both turned into very real, very dangerous combat situations against Martian raiders marauding between Mars and Earth.

And yet, this awkward-looking vessel had emerged victorious in every battle it had fought in. Her heavy rail guns, based on human designs but upgraded with alien technology, threw motorcycle-sized projectiles at close to the speed of light with deadly accuracy. Where lasers could be countered by shifting shield frequencies, missiles shot down, and particle beam cannons by electronic jamming, simple kinetic force got through and rendered the thin-hulled ships of the Galactic Guardians scrap metal.

Her (supposedly primary) missile weaponry had also granted her a considerable advantage. Packing over a hundred in her vertical-launch tubes, she could fire off a huge snap strike of thermonuclear warheads, allowing the _Titan _to throw whole enemy formations into chaos with the first blow. The long-range of her missiles also let her stand off well out of weapons range of enemy ships and stations, pounding them to rubble from safety. And, if the enemy ships could intercept her missiles ahead of time, _Titan_ could simply use her missiles to take up the enemy's attention and fire while she closed to gunnery range. Her thick, trintanium hull plating and advanced shields let her shrug off considerable fire, and (if necessary) gave her the ability to ram enemy vessels and still continue the fight.

As Earth ships went, she was probably the oldest-nearly nine years old, built two years after the first Martian invasion. But the ships that followed her all retained her features as standard: Heavy armor, over-powered reactor systems, missiles, and rail guns. She was not obsolete by any means-Rather, the "grand old lady" of the fleet.

Lamprey saw the icon of the _Titan,_ scourge of the Galactic Guardians, from his small ship's sensor array. He whispered a curse at this mighty vessel, as it probed the Prison System with its active sensors and fighters.

"The _Titan,_" Nuclea growled, her glowing eyes narrowing at the familiar starship. "Flagship of Earth… Phuh!"

"Yes… That accursed vessel ensnared me after taking care of the GG HQ," Maximus ground out. "The technology on that ship… Curses! If only _I'd_ gotten it-I could have ruled the galaxy!"

"As if YOU could ever undertake anything like that yourself," Icicla sniffed. "Their ship is such a disaster of looks! Why it won the war, I will never know."

"Excuse me… But could someone please tell me WHY ATOMIC BETTY WAS BROUGHT WITH US!" Roared Atomic Roger, furious. "NOT TO MENTION ALL THESE VILLAINS!"

"Admiral Degill is willing to grant you all pardons, and give you virtually anything you could ever want… In exchange for your services," Lamphrey coolly replied, checking Betty in the copilot's seat. Betty, looking as comfortable as a mouse at a cat show, tried to remain calm with all of her worst nemeses in the cramped cargo ship.

"What services!" Demanded Maximus. Lamphrey smirked.

"Your assistance, in taking control of the most advanced starship in the universe… And helping him conquer Earth." Betty gaped at Lamphrey, while the villains talked about it amongst themselves.

"Lamphrey! You can't be serious!"

"Earth destroyed the Galactic Guardians! And they banished you to that backwater world!" Lamphrey argued. "Don't you want to have justice?"

"Well yes! But not by unleashing the galaxy's greatest super villains on billions of innocent people!" Betty squawked. Lamphrey shook his head.

"Betty… Earth does not care about you. Not anymore. All your friends and family _abandoned_ you. And betrayed you. Not to mention, Earth has broken about five hundred Galactic Guardian codes of conduct," Lamphrey replied. Betty bit her lip.

"Yes… But, _conquer?_ Galactic Guardians do not conquer!"

"Not so much _conquer,_ as _occupy,"_ Lamphrey sighed. "You know, we'll take control of Earth and make sure they never cause any trouble for anyone ever again." Betty balked at this.

"WHAT!" _Beep! Beep! Beep!_ The sensor monitor on the console alerted Lamphrey and distracted Betty and the villains/other guardians. Lamphrey zoomed in on a hyperspace window emerging near the planet they were hiding by. The nephew of Admiral Degill grinned.

"Right on time. All right everyone, little time to explain, but our first mission just arrived. Get ready!"

_Messiah_ burst out into normal space without a tremor, the great starship smoothly cruising into the Prison System. Noah, standing with Paloma at the plotting table, nodded his satisfaction. The IFF transponders of ten Earth and Allied vessels registered the _Messiah's_ entrance, and their information was instantly displayed in holograms before the captain.

"Allright… Sensors! Full system-search, maximum power. We're going to spook out the fugitives." A translucent, bright blue sphere burst from the icon of the _Messiah,_ sweeping over every planet, ship, star, and other major body within nearly a lightyear. A second sweep mapped the thousands of asteroids, comets, and various other "space junk" littering the same area. A contact, represented as a yellow dot, registered in the shadow of the sixth planet in the system-The ship nearest to it being _Messiah_ and _Titan._

"Looks like our escape ship," Paloma remarked. She hit a button on the table, and the dot grew to full size and took the shape of a boxy transport. "Firscal Industries light cargo carrier. Short-range. Looks like it's been modified with sensor-jamming tech and light-absorbing materials…"

"That do squat against subspace mass displacement sensors!" Sparky remarked, over at the weapons console. Noah nodded with a small smile.

"Indeed. Navigation, lay in an intercept course. Ready the transporter and tractor beam arrays. Mr. B1, please have our Marines ready to greet our guests in the brig." The robot security chief saluted, before loping off, his built-in tazer beam emerging from his forearm. Noah returned the holo-display to it's default, now showing _Messiah_ and _Titan_ closing in on the small ship. He then frowned.

"Sir?" Asked Paloma. Noah shook his head.

"… Why aren't they running? Prisoners desperate to get out of here should have jumped away well before we showed up." Paloma cycled through sensor settings, and shrugged.

"Their jump drive seems to be down. I'm guessing they hoped to hide while they repaired it." Noah nodded, but he retained the frown.

"… Just in case, raise shields and arm weapons," he commanded. "Better safe than sorry." Paloma nodded.

"Aye sir."

"… Exactly what are we waiting for?" Betty asked. Lamphrey actually giggled, while the villains sat on the cargo ship's few chairs, whispering angrily amongst themselves.

"The _Messiah._ Now, let's just see if it's still there… Uncle said it should be… Ah ha!" He pointed triumphantly at a red dot blinking on the icon representing the _Messiah._ "I knew he'd be there!"

"He? He who?" Asked Betty, confused. She then got it. They had a spy on the _Messiah._ But what could one being do against over a hundred?

Lamphrey hit a small button on the console, before flipping a few switches. Finally, he inserted a data crystal into the reader in the control panel. The little cargo ship's communications array lit up outside. Lamphrey smirked.

"All right everyone, just a few more seconds to go…"

X-5 blinked, before his eyes abruptly turned bright red. He turned from his position at the Sensor station, and floated over to the planning table. Noah and Paloma looked up.

"X-5? What is-?" The robot fired a laser bolt, hitting Noah in the chest. He fell, a look of surprise etched on his face. Paloma drew her own laser gun and tried to shoot down the robot, but X-5 hit her as well. He then thrust his golden-plated arm into a data-socket on the holographic planning table. Even as the Marines on the bridge and a number of crew members moved to stop him, they were all enveloped by white light and vanished. A second later, the bridge lit up and the passengers and crew of the little cargo ship flashed into existence. Lamphrey looked about, wrist weapon out, before he walked over to X-5 and smirked. Betty and Atomic Rodger, with the other rescuees, crowded around the plotting table.

"It's a little known secret, that the Galactic Guardians installed a control chip and data link into every one of our robots," Lamphrey explained. "In case they turned against us organics. However, they can also be used to receive information from the robot… And take it over when necessary." He knocked on the robot's head. Betty glowered.

"Lamphrey, let him go. We have the ship, let's let him-"

"Go? He already betrayed us! Betrayed you, Betty!" Rodger sneered.

"Speaking of betrayal," Maximus began, before Rodger and Lamphrey's wrist weapons extended into full-crowd control mode. The villains froze.

"We can set you all back on that planet, quick as we please," Lamphrey said coolly. "X-5 only responds to my commands. And the Chameleon isn't here." The villains, as one, back off. Lamphrey shakes his head.

"You'll all be richly rewarded for your cooperation-Each of you will receive nearly ten million human slaves once we conquer Earth." The villains, again as one, grinned at their reward. Betty, understandably:

"WHAT! I won't allow that!" She assumed a fighting stance. "You're not getting anywhere near Earth! What the hell has happened to the Admiral!" Lamphrey rolled his eyes, before turning to X-5.

"X-5, transport Betty to the brig." Betty opened her mouth, but vanishes in a transporter beam before she could speak. Lamphrey turned to the villains.

"You can all have a shot at Betty, _after_ Earth is conquered. Understand?" X-5's head turned.

"Alert… Alert… Earth vessels closing on us." Lamphrey checked the holo-monitor, and sighed. He then smiled evilly.

"Maximus… You have some familiarity with super weapons."

"SOME!" Maximus snarled. "I am a MASTER of superior weapons of mass destruction!"

"In that case, would you like to test the _Messiah's_ binary fusion cannon array, in actual combat?" Asked Lamphrey. Maximus fairly beamed at the idea.

"I'd LOVE to!"

"Excellent! Dr. Celebra, feel free to look over the weapon yourself. I am sure you would like to create one for your own purposes. Every one else-Earth is attempting to take back this ship. I don't think we should let them…"

_Ba ba bum bummmm!_

_More to come! Stay tuned!_


	5. Chapter 5

**The Right Things**

**Andrew J. Talon**

**Disclaimer:**_I don't own Atomic Betty, nor am I making any profit from this endeavor. _

_Fifth (or ninth) chapter of the series, depending upon your POV. But no matter the number, I hope you enjoy it!_

--

The _Kitty Hawk's_ CIC rocked as the huge carrier took a direct hit on her shields. Commondore Finch grimaced as he held onto the plotting table, narrowly avoiding slamming his head into the digital display.

"Fleet status?" His tactical officer, an Asian-American lieutenant named Hoshi, turned and shook her head.

"The _Melbourne_ and the _Rommel _have been destroyed, sir. The _Sakura _and _Farrago_ have been heavily damaged and are evacuating. The _Arizona_ is coming up to bring her main battery to bear-" Hoshi was interrupted as the _Kitty Hawk_ took another blast from the _Messiah's_ main weapons array.

"Forward Shields are at twenty percent, sir!" The XO shouted over the alert klaxons. "DC says we've got fires in sections 14P through 13A!" Finch growled. Another hit and a quarter of their shield array would be down.

"What's wrong with her? We should have been blown apart with one blast from _Messie's_ biggest gun," he mused. Hoshi, looking over her data, gasped.

"Sir! Looks like _Messiah's_ main weapons array is still at its low setting." Finch gawped _Low!_ The _Messiah_ had decimated his task force on the _low _setting!

"Then we can't let her escape so they can figure out the max setting!" Finch growled. "Helm! Full rotation, 180 degrees X-axis! Keep our forward shields away from her line of fire!" Finch turned to the XO. "Commander, have you alerted ORIONCMD about our situation?"

"Yes sir! Comms reports they've received our status report and are scrambling reinforcements, sir!" Finch nodded. The commander then coughed.

"Sir, _Messiah_ is powering up her hyperdirve. Can we catch her if she makes a run for it?" Finch shook his head grimly.

"No, Commander… I want every ship to concentrate their fire on _Messiah._ All weapons, full power! And see if you can get the abandoned ships online via remote to ram! We're going in! We can't let her escape!"

--

Maximus IQ cursed. "FISHBOY! Can you get your wind-up toy to release the safeties on the main weapons array!" On the numerous holographic display screens lining the bulkheads of the _Messiah's_ bridge, a hundred different views of the battle theywere engaged in were displayed. How the humans were able to coordinate their efforts with all this information being presented to them boggled even his incredible intellect.

"_Safeties protected by manual control system isolated from primary network,_" X-5 replied in a monotone. Lamprey muttered a particularly-foul sounding curse in his native language.

"Doctor Cerebrum!"

"Gah! This technology is so primitive, it's ingenious!" The brain-in-a-jar scowled. He was sorting through a module of locks and control devices that looked like those strange human cooking contraptions-What were they called again? Cuisinarts?

"Keep at it! We can't decimate the Earth fleet with our weapons at their lowest setting!" Lamprey grumbled, steering the huge ship out of the way of the main guns of an Earth battleship. The _Messiah_, currently taking continuous fire from nine Earth combat ships, barely registered the impacts on her shields as distant-sounding _booms._ Lamprey was a bit shocked to discover that the Earth starship's shields actually absorbed the energy of the weapons fire and converted it for use for the ship's power systems. It took using the strength of your enemy against him to a whole new level-As long as the _Messiah_ kept dispersing it's excess energy through it's weapons and shields, it could theoretically fight a single battle for days, even weeks.

"Bah. We're already decimating them with our weapons at their current settings!" Icicla cackled. "And they cannot harm us! Indeed, their fire only makes us stronger!"

"Still, we will have plenty of time for that later," Lamprey stated. "X-5! Prepare to take us to hyperspeed, and input the following coordinates…"

--

Outside, the _Titan_ made another high-speed attack run, launching dozens of missiles and rail gun rounds at the _Messiah_ to no affect. Maximus had been attempting to destroy that most infamous of Earth warships, but her commander clearly knew their stuff-Stay moving, stay alive. Many of the other Earth ships simply sat there, forced to stay in front of the big carrier to defend it, but there were ways to do that without becoming sitting ducks. The hundreds of drones and dozens of Earth fighters constantly attacking their shields were like tiny gnats-not even causing a hundredth of a percentage point's worth of damage to the mighty _Messiah._

"Allright… This isn't doing anything," Captain Annette Sparrow shook her head from the _Titan's_ bridge. She was an attractive, middle-aged American woman with long brown hair and piercing grey eyes, which were currently focused on the holographic display before her, showing that the _Messiah's_ shields were as impenetrable as advertised.

"We just keep more energy to them to use against us, captain," the blond navigation officer next to her, a former-Czech Republic Air Force pilot named Radrich Avernok, reported glumly. "This isn't even noticeable."

"Allright… We clearly can't beat through their shields," Sparrow grumbled. "Can we beam a nuke through their shields?" The transporter operator responded over the ship's intercom.

"_Sorry captain. Too much interference."_ The captain growled in irritation… Before turning to Avernok.

"Lieutenant? Think you can plot a hyperspace jump to within _Messiah's_ shield bubble?" She asked, her eyes suddenly lit up in inspiration. Avernok grinned.

"Like with GG task force in 2012?" The Czech pilot inputted the data, his eyes narrowed.

"Unfortunately, risks the same. Too far away, ship cut in half by _Messiah's_ shields. Too near… Boom." Sparrow grinned.

"We've managed to make it just right so far, Goldilocks." Avernok grimaced at the too-often used nickname, and muttered something in his native Czech that Sparrow decided to ignore.

"Ready. Hope," Avernok reported finally. Sparrow nodded.

"Well then, Mr. Avernok: _Tally ho!"_

--

Betty smiled in triumph as she heard the door lock disengage with a mechanical _thud_, and grinned when the hatch opened. Quickly she ran down the corridor, not sure where to actually go. The _Messiah_ was certainly a ship she had no information on, but she'd managed to spy a situation monitor on the bridge before she was imprisoned. Her enhanced memory led her to believe she could find the bridge without too much trouble…

The entire ship seemed to blur around her, and she paused by a porthole. She looked out, and gasped. The bright blue vortex of hyperspace now surrounded the vessel.

"Where are we headed?" She wondered aloud, before dashing down the corridor even faster. If the villains had decided to make a break for Earth already…

The ship blurred again, and Betty froze. They couldn't be at Earth already, could they? She spied another porthole, and ran for it, looking out. Her blood turned cold at the sight before her.

"Oh no…"

--

Admiral Degill breathed deeply, stretching his piscine body out in his elegant command chair. The humans, he decided, in addition to their numerous failings, did not appreciate proper starship design. The commander of the vessel should be in the middle of everything, not standing around like a common enlisted man at some table. That had been one of the first alterations to the design of the vessel he now sat in.

"Sir? The _Messiah_ just jumped out of hyperspace," Kilrabi reported to his superior, seeming a tad nervous. Degill dismissed it as the young officer's inexperience-After all, he was serving under a legend, in a perilous situation.

"Open a channel!" Degill ordered, and a holoscreen with his nephew's face appeared before him. The admiral smirked.

"Lamprey! You have done well. The crew?" Lamprey smiled.

"_Trapped on the planet our comrades were on."_

"Excellent! A fitting punishment!"

"_Yes, we thought so. Betty, unfortunately, refused to cooperate so we had to put her in the brig," _Lamprey reported. Degill's eyes widened in rage.

"WHAT! That… THAT! Grrr… We shall deal with her for her treachery! Her allegiance was never for anyone but herself!" Degill shuddered in rage, and for a moment looked as though he would resume his rant… Before shaking his head.

"No matter. The stolen plans we took from the spy were enough… And the Earth certainly cannot stand against us. Nephew! Signal the fleet. We make for Earth immediately!"

Degill then began to laugh, deep in his throat, as the ship he now commanded began to power up. From the outside, aside from her incomplete hull plating in a number of areas, and lack of scientific sensor arrays, she was a mirror of the mighty _Messiah_. Only across her hull had been scrawled the ship's name: _Omega._ And around this instrument of destruction, flocked over two hundred Galactic Guardian starships, all of their crews primed and ready.

"Yes… TO EARTH! For glory, and justice!" Degill cackled. "TO EARTH!"

--

_Stand by for the exciting conclusion to _"The Right Things!" _Coming soon!_


	6. Chapter 6

**The Right Things**

**Andrew J. Talon**

**Disclaimer:**_I don't own Atomic Betty, nor am I making any profit from this endeavor. _

_Sixth (or tenth) chapter of the series, depending upon your POV. But no matter the number, I hope you enjoy it!_

--

Beatrix Brown had fought numerous battles before, as a Galactic Guardian, and later as an admiral with the Allied Earth Spacefleet. And over a dozen of them had been against enemies that should have won, but instead were crushed through the Earth military's superior training and thinking.

But, this was one battle Beatrix knew that all the training and thinking in the world couldn't win.

"So, what's the ETA of the _Messiah?_" Beatrix asked from the plotting table of the Earth battleship _Bahamut._ The sensor officer, or SO, looked up from her screens with a disheartened look on her face.

"Ten minutes, ma'am." Beatrix cursed under her breath. The instant the _Messiah _had been reported captured, she'd been beamed up and recalled to active duty. She had, after all, assisted in designing several systems for the vessel, though she had not seen the full product owing to her retirement.

"XO, order the _Saratoga_ and _Akagi_ task forces to move their fighters to screen us," Beatrix stated clearly. "And have the _Macarthur's _battlegroup take point. If I know Degill, he'll drop out of hyper a little out of the moon's orbit."

"Admiral…?" She turned to look upon her nervous-looking executive officer-the captain of the _Bahamut._ Mentally she reviewed his file… Never been in actual combat before, he was mainly an engineering officer. He had been given command of the _Bahamut_ because a lot of their captains were laid up after a disastrous training exercise.

"Do we… Can we win this thing?" He asked frankly. Beatrix reflected momentarily on one of her favorite scenes from _Gettysburg: _"Up men, and to your posts! And let no man forget today that you are from old Virginia!" Spoken by General Pickett, just before his ill-fated charge on the Union line. It was there that the Confederacy truly lost the war-The remaining two years of the Civil War were composed only of desperate fighting against the inevitable.

"I really don't know," she answered honestly. She turned back to the plotting table, without another word, and the captain had the sense to not press further.

--

Betty scowled, climbing through yet another access hatch into a maintenance section of the _Messiah._ The ship seemed to have endless corridors and ladders and doors, and she felt she was still nowhere near the bridge.

_Not like I could do much even if I got up there,_ she reflected sourly. She squeezed through a pair of pipes and continued her trek. She had no weapons, and her fighting skills, while certainly exceptional, could not even the odds enough with at least a dozen of her worst enemies in a single, cramped space.

Betty executed a perfect swing up to a ladder, climbing up and nearly bumping her head on an exposed pipe. She cursed under her breath, before breaking into a full sprint. She could see a sign that said "Main Bridge" up ahead on a holoscreen! If she were fast enough…

"Stop right there, former Atomic Betty!" Betty skidded to a halt, glaring at Atomic Rodger and Dodger, identical blasters pointed at her.

"Sorry about this, but we can't let you go any further," Roger spoke. Dodger smirked.

"At least, towards the bridge," he laughed lewdly, looking her up and down. Betty's fists clenched and her green eyes narrowed in fury. With years of practice and experience, she launched herself at the twin men, a foot and fist connecting with Roger and Dodger's faces, respectively. They both went down hard, and Betty looked over their skinny, malnourished forms with a sigh. They hadn't fared very well on the prison planet, no doubt about it…

A freeze beam glanced her scalp, though she moved just enough to prevent her head being turned into a block of ice. Kicking off from the bulkhead, she flew into Dr Cerebrum, sending the mad cyborg's brain jar smashing on the deck as he screamed in agony. Betty grabbed the freeze ray he'd been packing and hurried on, finally coming to a halt outside the main bridge.

"_Sorry Atomic Betty! But it looks like you're out of luck. Bridge is closed!" _Cackled Maximus over the intercom. Betty snarled, and fired the freeze ray at the hatch. She then kicked it with all her might… Only to fall back on her butt with an ungraceful "oof!"

She glowered at the door, discretely rubbing her stinging backside. "Lousy composite armor…" There had to be a way in… There had to be!

--

Degill cursed loudly as the first wave of his fleet exploded upon their exit from hyperspace. Two dozen Starcruisers, gone, thanks to the uncanny accuracy of the Earth long-range defensive kinetic missile batteries. Beatrix Brown, another traitor, had no doubt arranged for the huge mass driver satellite weapons to be positioned in just the right way to intercept them.

_Well, no matter. She can't stop us all!_

"Second wave, engage alternate attack plan!" Degill ordered. Another twelve cruisers jumped out of hyperspace behind Earth's satellite defense network, opening fire on the unshielded mass drivers and destroying several of them. A number of Earth vessels moved to engage them, but the cruisers were able to jump away before they were destroyed. Degill nodded, grinning maniacally.

"Continue the attack! We must draw their forces away from our main avenue of assault… Begin charging the primary weapons array!" Degill ordered.

--

"Keep them away from the planet," shouted Beatrix over the red alert klaxons on the _Bahamut. _"Have the _Revere_ and _Crocus _move to support the Pacific satellite defenses!"

_Bahamut _herself was easily the second-most powerful starship in the Earth fleet, aside from the now-captured _Messiah._ In addition to heavy rail guns and missile batteries, she used the new positron beam cannons that were slated to become the primary weapons of all future Earth ships. _Messiah's_ binary fusion cannons were much more powerful, but the positron cannons were easier to build and cheaper to develop. _Bahamut_ used her positrons to good affect, taking out two Starcruisers with a single salvo. As a swarm of drone fighters approached, her defensive cannons and fighters screened her from harm, as she sent forth another barrage of cannon and missile fire at the raiding GG starships.

"They keep trying to lure us away, admiral, presumably to give _Messiah_ a clear shot at Earth," her second-in-command mused. "But, how do they expect to get through our defenses this way?" Beatrix frowned, and gave the matter some thought. _Messiah_ had yet to appear-So far, they were just dealing with the Galactic Guardian small fry: Easily dealt with by their superior forces. _What's Degill waiting for? All he's doing is wasting his ships and crews this way…_

--

Kilrabi frowned. They had lost a tenth of their forces, and still Admiral Degill would not give the order for the _Omega_ and _Messiah_ to join the battle. At this rate, he calculated, they would reach 50 casualties in a matter of minutes.

"Admiral?" Degill shook his head.

"SILENCE!" The entire bridge froze at the Admiral's outburst. Kilrabi tried again.

"Admiral, sir? Should we not support our-?"

"NO!" Degill stood, furious. "We must lose the proper number of troops and ships! Our victory cannot be overwhelming! If it is, the people of the galaxy will never believe that we defeated Earth! The lion of the galaxy!"

"Sir! I must protest!" Kilrabi shook his head, gritting his teeth. "Those are good men and women and robots dying out there! They don't have to!" Degill turned to Kilrabi, and the Madagascarian could at last see the gleam of madness in the fish admiral's eyes.

"I am the Admiral! Life and death are _purely_ my domain! How _dare_ you question _me,_ the future ruler of the Universe! The future GOD!" Kilrabi turned to the security officers at the bridge entrance.

"I am relieving Admiral Degill of command. He is not fit to continue in his position-"

"I AM THE ADMIRAL! STAY WHERE YOU ARE OR DIE!" Degill bellowed. The guards, looking between the Admiral and Kilrabi, finally turned their weapons on Degill.

"Sir, please come with us?" Degill slammed his fin on the control panel of his chair.

"NEPHEW! DESTROY THE EARTH! I have been betrayed! MUTINY! MUTINY-!" Kilrabi fired his laser, stunning the fish admiral and dropping him to the deck. He ran to the control panel.

"_Messiah,_ this is Fleet Command, belay that last order! Repeat, belay that last order!"

The sensor officer looked up, gravely.

"Sir, the _Messiah_ has jumped to normal space!"

--

Betty took her twentieth deep breath, making sure her goggles were secure. She stared at the airlock door for what felt like the hundredth time. The wild swirls of color that marked hyperspace vanished, giving way to the beautiful blue and white surface of Earth.

It was now or never. She opened the airlock, and swung out into the hard vacuum of space.

The cold was almost unbearable. Her blood and skin began to scream in pain, even as she kept her mouth shut tightly. Her ear plugs had kept her from going death due to the extreme pressure change, but the airless environment was slowly driving her mad nevertheless.

She pulled her way across the hull, to the manual override on the side of the forward hull. She ripped open the hatch, and looked over the emergency controls for the ship's fusion array. The feeling of drowning began to edge in over her senses, even as she began quickly rearranging the control crystals. Betty had seen this on the schematics Lamprey had brought up while they were all on the shuttle… Her photographic memory had snapped it up.

The last control in place, she twisted the control mechanism. Seeing the panel light up, she couldn't help but smile as the main power conduits for the _Messiah's_ fusion cannon shut themselves off.

A power surge ripped through the hull as the cannon fired, blowing out a huge portion of the hull and sending Betty spinning into space. She didn't care… She could see Earth, her home, and even with all the pain it had brought her, she felt happy it was safe.

Then a bright white light consumed her, and she knew no more.

--

Lamphrey cursed in every language he knew as the power conduits on the _Messiah's_ main cannons overloaded. While there were safeguards to prevent such an event from totally destroying the ship (and thus a good portion of a solar system), the important ones had been disabled from the outside manually. That is, the ones that would only vaporize the _Messiah_ herself, and keep the surrounding area safe. A most _ingenious_ design feature, Lamphrey had to admit.

"DAMNIT! Maximus, get us out of here!" The Lynx cursed back.

"If I do that, you stupid fish, our core will overload all that much more quickly!" Maximus snarled. "The chance to destroy Earth ruined, and I get to die with fools at the same time! CURSE YOU ATOMIC BETTY!"

Even as Maximus roared, the _Messiah's_ hull began to blister and glow blue-hot, unstable subspace-enhanced fusion energy ripping through its delicate conduits and containment systems. The shields conformed to the hull, ready to collapse the entire vessel in on itself to destroy itself and keep Earth nearby from suffering even a mild rise in ambient radiation. However, this did not stop a single starship from firing its grapples and towing the huge ship through a hyperspace portal.

"Glad you miscalculated that last jump, Avernok," Captain Sparrow grinned, as the _Titan's_ crew went to collision stations. "Otherwise, some kind of hyperspace implosion would have killed us all."

"Yes. Lucky like that I guess," Avernok shrugged, as the _Titan_ dragged the huge _Messiah_ into hyperspace. "So, how long we tow?"

"We've got to make sure she doesn't lose her containment shell, or the entire solar system is toast," Sparrow stated flatly. "How soon until we're out of the danger range?"

"Current speed… Twenty seconds." Avernok look at his captain. "Explosion… Nineteen seconds."

"Well, let's see if we can trim some time off, shall we?" The _Titan's_ engines, already straining to tug the massive _Messiah,_ positively screamed as they were pushed to their absolute limits. The starship rattled, seemingly about to rip apart at the seams. Sparrow held her breath.

"CLEAR!" Avernok screamed, just as the _Messiah _on the viewscreen began to lose containment, despite her vaunted safety systems.

"Beam the survivors aboard and drop out of hyper NOW!" Sparrow roared. Just as the shockwave began to overtake them, the _Messiah_ and the spiraling blue kaleidoscope of hyperspace ceded to the shimmering darkness of space. The bridge let out a collective sigh of relief.

"Avernok… Remind me to give you a promotion, after I recommend you and everyone else aboard for a Medal of Honor," Sparrow said at last, shaking slightly from the adrenaline. Avernok grinned weakly back.

"Sir… Permission throw up?"

"Granted. Just clean it up afterwards…"

--

Betty groaned, the feeling of feeling coming back to her. Mentally, she reviewed her situation:

_No lost limbs… Breathing… Hearing and touch seem okay… Smell… Peroxide. Taste… Ugh. Yeah, it's there allright. Sight… _She opened her eyes, then squinted into the bright light overhead.

"For once, I'm glad the Galactic Guardians poked around in your head," chuckled a dry, familiar voice to her right. She shifted her head, blinking awkwardly.

"… Granny?" Beatrix Brown, in full battle dress, smiled down at her granddaughter. Betty noted that her hand was clasped in her grandmother's whitened fist, and seemed to hurt a bit.

"You saw the emergency scuttling system, I take it?" Beatrix shrugged. "We lifted it off Lamphrey's ship's computers. I'm glad you spotted it. Even more glad he didn't pay it much thought." Betty frowned.

"Earth… The crew?"

"All safe, thanks in large part to you… And to the _Titan."_ Beatrix grinned impishly. "But you can imagine that I'm more concerned about you at the moment. What, exactly, were you thinking, jumping out an airlock without protection? You didn't even have your bubble helmet."

"Save the Earth… And the Universe, by extension," Betty stated dully. Beatrix raised a white eyebrow.

"Uh huh… And the real reason?"

"… You. Mom. Dad. Noah. Paloma… Sparky. X-5." Betty smiled and closed her eyes. "Even Penelope, I guess."

"She did watch you get imprisoned," Beatrix reminded her. Betty shook her head.

"She also defended me… Got the death penalty taken off the table."

"Probably why she went into politics… To try and assuage her guilt," Beatrix huffed. Betty shook her head, still smiling.

"I try to think she had a change of heart."

"Heh, keep dreaming." Beatrix leaned back in her chair and sighed deeply. "There will be another inquiry, of course, but the _Messiah's_ black box was recovered. So, I think that this time, you'll get a much better reception at home."

"Really?"

"There's talk of giving you the _Omega_, once she's refit for use by the Allied Fleet," Beatrix grinned.

"You're joking."

"Nope. It's not everyday the people who wanted their revenge on you get saved by the very person they hate the most… Especially when it's broadcast planet-wide," Beatrix pointed out with a wry smile.

"Good point…" Betty frowned. Something had been nagging her…

"Grandma?"

"Yes Betty dear?"

"What's going to happen to X-5?"

"He was aquitted of all charges. It seems that, while X-5 was helping in the construction of the _Messiah,_ Degill took remote control and downloaded enough of the plans to build his own copy. But, the GG device has been removed, and he's good to go. And, of course, Degill himself is on ice."

"Huh?"

"His crew mutinied and surrendered. Apparently, he'd gone nuts."

"Why am I not surprised…?"

"Because you're getting older and wiser." Beatrix grinned.

"Wish it didn't involve decompression sickness…"

"Heh, tell me about it."

--

_To be concluded!_


End file.
